


Who We Are In The Dark

by LMTYL__Lye



Category: Danny Phantom, Venom (Movie 2018), 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Animal Death, Anxiety, Body Horror, Canon-Typical Injuries, Canon-Typical Violence, Depression, Developing Friendships, Dreams and Nightmares, Eddie Brock is dead, Exchange Student, Gen, Ghost Zone (Danny Phantom), Izuku Is Doing His Best, Japanese Wordplay, Not Beta Read, Precious Midoriya Izuku, Venom is depressed, mentions of cannibalism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:33:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28898961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LMTYL__Lye/pseuds/LMTYL__Lye
Summary: In which the Venom symbiote meets another compassionate loser, Izuku makes the best mistake of his life, Danny meets people who actually care, and (almost) nobody gets eaten.
Relationships: Danny Fenton & Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku & Uraraka Ochako, Midoriya Izuku & Venom Symbiote (Marvel), Midoriya Izuku & Yagi Toshinori | All Might
Comments: 17
Kudos: 143





	1. Tempting Fate

**Author's Note:**

> Maybe a smidge of body horror in this first chapter?

Izuku should’ve known better. He’d been attacked by a slime monster in the not-so-distant past, after all. But the snakelike black face that had emerged from the storm drain to stare at him had looked… sad.

He’d been walking home after a strenuous first week of early-morning training with All Might on the beach when this thing had popped up next to the sidewalk and opened a pair of white eyes (were those eyes?) to watch his approach. When Izuku made to skirt around it on the edge of the sidewalk, the creature slumped down to rest its chin on the concrete as if to say, “I guess nobody wants me.”

Halfway down the block, Izuku found himself turning on his heel to walk back to the storm drain.

As he came closer, it ducked down a bit, looking cautious. Crouching, the boy shuffled a little closer and held out his right hand, palm up.

“What are you doing down there, little friend?” Izuku asked softly. Those white eyes widened briefly and then more of the black snakelike creature rose into view. This close, he could see the almost liquid strands making up its body, the opalescent shine to its white eyes.

He tilted his hand and twitched his fingers. “It’s alright, you can come out of there.” Those eyes looked from his hand to his face and back before narrowing to happy crescent moons. It nuzzled its cool silky face against his hand, like a cat.

“Do you want to come home with me?” Izuku asked it. The eyes widened as it turned against his palm to look him in the eye, before suddenly it didn’t have eyes at all. The individual strands loosened as black flesh entangled his hand, and the boy scrambled backwards with a yelp. Maybe four liters’ worth of black slime flowed up out of the drain and encased his arm for a heartbeat before sinking into his flesh before he could try to claw it away.

Izuku stared in horror as the black veins around his right wrist faded into clean skin. He pinched at his arm in shock. Did that really just happen?

_ “Thank you,” _ whispered a gravelly voice from somewhere. A string of that black flesh wound around the fingers of his left hand, petting in an almost comforting gesture.  _ “Tired. Sleeping now.” _ The blackness vanished from his hand.

The urge to sprint back to the beach and find All Might was strong. But he was tired and hungry and almost home and  _ hungry _ , and he’d be seeing the Number One Hero again tomorrow. If he delayed much longer he was going to be late for school.

—

School was okay, for what it was. Izuku was torn between analyzing All Might’s training plan and dissociating from the panic of his mysterious encounter earlier. A few times he was jarred back to reality by his teacher’s scolding or his classmates staring.

He got even more looks during lunch, where he dug into the day’s soup and rice with uncharacteristic enthusiasm, which he chalked up to all the exercise he’d been getting. The temptation of the chocolate protein bar in his bag called most of the afternoon, but he waited until the walk home to eat it. Kacchan and his hangers-on had been avoiding Izuku since the slime villain incident.

—

After school, Izuku and his mother had a quiet dinner of seaweed salad, miso with tofu, and a stir-fry of local shellfish and vegetables. The soup tasted especially good tonight, salt and protein satisfying. The boy bid his mother goodnight in that distracted way of his, retreating to his bedroom to figure out if he hallucinated the black creature from that morning.

Plunking down at his desk and pulling out his homework out of habit as much as anything, he poked at the skin of his right arm and asked quietly, “hey, weird slime monster, can you hear me?”

In response, there was the distinct feeling of a person yawning right behind him. With a yelp, Izuku spun in his seat, eyes wide.

_ “So jumpy, little one,” _ came that same deep whispered voice,  _ “not going to hurt you. Need a host to survive.” _

“Wh-why me? Where are you? Who are you?”

Slowly, black strands crawled down his arm and twisted together into the white-eyed snake from that morning.  _ “Our… my name is Venom. Humans called my kind ‘symbiotes’ because we join with a host.” _

Izuku felt some of the tension he’d been holding all day melt. This creature was nothing like the villain that had tried to pour itself down his throat. “Be-no-mu,” he sounded the name out, “that’s an English word? And why pick me?”

_ “You are a good match, though young. You invited me. And yes, my last human host was American, he often called me ‘V’. Your language would call me Dokueki.” _

“Doku… sounds a little like a Villain name, but also like what Kacchan calls me. My personal name is Izuku, but the kanji can also read as Deku, which means ‘puppet’ or ‘useless’...” That analytical mind of his had overtaken his earlier worries, mostly. “That our nicknames are so similar seems almost like fate, but also implies you’re poisonous or toxic or—”

He was shushed by a gentle tendril to his lips.

_ “Most of my kind are not good, but Eddie showed me how to be like him, to protect. To care. Want a partner, not a puppet.” _ The creature — Venom — drooped its head to the desk and its eyes narrowed unhappily.

“Eddie, your American friend? How did you get to Japan?” Izuku asked, but regretted immediately from the way Venom winced and sadness and anger welled up through their connection. “Sorry, we can talk about something else.” He pulled out his singed, water-stained hero notebook. “I keep notes on heroes and abilities — can I write about you?”

_ “There may be people after me, bad people. Maybe talk more later?” _

“Oh, yeah, sure,” the boy hid a twinge of disappointment, “I can show you my stuff after I get my homework done.” He gave a smile that was only slightly forced.

Venom nodded at him before pulling apart into black cords and soaking back under the boy’s skin.

Focusing on homework was not going to be easy.


	2. You Remind Me Of Him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A flashback to some Venom-typical vigilante justice in this chapter, just a heads-up! Starts with “ On the almost-empty street” and ends with “AAAHH” if you want to skip.

Finished with homework, Izuku decided tonight was a bath night. The bathroom was modest but the tub filled up quickly enough while he brushed his teeth and showered off. Sinking into the warm water was a relief on his sore muscles.

He felt a tickle across his shoulders and gave a start as Venom’s black strands appeared again. “WHA— oh, it’s— but I’m— !!!”

A knock at the door. “Izuku, sweetie, are you alright in there?”

“No— I mean, yes, Okāsan! I just, uh, realized I used the wrong math formula on some homework!” The boy yelled, blushing.

“Don’t go scaring me with any more of your homework, okay?” His mother replied, teasing and relief in her voice.

“Okay!”

He sighed as he heard her walk away from the door.

“Benom-san, I’m naked!” Izuku hissed at the symbiote, covering himself.

Eyes crinkled into wavy crescents as Venom chuckled.  _ “Familiar with all the embarrassing human body things, little one.” _

“I’m not little, I’m just not full-grown yet!”

_ “Will leave you to your bath, we talk after? _ ”

“Oh, thanks, yes, I have so many questions!” The boy watched the now-familiar sight of the creature unravelling and sliding out of sight.

—

Back in his room, wearing his pajamas, Izuku searched through his desk drawer until he found a pocket-sized notebook he’d gotten for free somewhere. He excitedly slapped it to the desk. “I know what we can do! Instead of writing about you in my big notebook that I carry everywhere, I can put it all in this little book and put it someplace secret!”

Venom spooled out to nose at the book while Izuku found a black marker, gracing the cover with a plain letter V.  _ “Yes! Much safer. Want to tell you about me.” _

The boy opened to the first page and jotted down the same fields he used when writing up a new hero: name, quirk, abilities, appearance…

“How do I write your name in English?”

_ “I can write it, hold still,” _ they replied. Without his input, Izuku watched his hand move to write with shaky, overly-cautious lines: V E N O M

“Oh my god, you moved my hand! How much can you do? What do you call your Quirk? How—” A tendril shushed him again.

_ “You are being loud.” _

“Sorry, sorry, I’m a huge nerd and get excited about new abilities.”

_ “I am using what Eddie calls my ‘inside voice’ to not be so startling. Called.” _ Venom shook their head.  _ “Am much older than the things you call Quirks. Been on this planet for almost two centuries.” _

“Where were you before you were on the planet?” Izuku joked.

_ “My kind were sleeping on a comet.  _ **_Scientists_ ** _ brought a few of us back to their  _ **_lab_ ** _.”  _ They hissed at the memory.

“WHAT!” The boy hastily covered his mouth. “You’re a real, live,  _ up-there _ space alien?!?” He squeaked through his fingers, eyes wide.

_ “You… thought I was a  _ human _ with powers?” _

“Well, yeah.”

Venom gave off the feeling of rolling their eyes.  _ “Ready to write? Things to know: need a host for shelter and nutrients, host gets strength and healing and stronger senses.” _ They nodded as the boy transcribed their words into tidy square-ish symbols.  _ “Can take control but do not want to — only in an emergency. Strongest when wrapped around host. Weak to high-pitched sounds and to fire.” _

Izuku finished writing and looked over his notes, absorbing the meaning of the information. “Wrapped around me? What would that look like?”

In response, black strands emerged around his shoulders and spread down his body and his arms, becoming smooth and shiny like a black oil jumpsuit. He examined clawed hands, not sure if he was moving on his own or if Venom was nudging his hands.

Actually, Venom’s emotions and thoughts seemed closer to his own mind like this. They were worried, excited to show off, hopeful, with a hint of that sad anger from earlier.

_ “Not back to full strength yet, not fully bonded yet, but if you accept?” _

“I- I need to think about this. It’s a lot, you know?”

The blackness retreated, leaving clean pajamas behind.  _ “Sleep on it, little one. Izuku.” _

“Good night, Benom-san.” Suddenly worn-out, Izuku slipped a rubber band around his little notebook, put it back into his desk drawer, and crawled into bed.

—

We run across the rooftops, feeling the life in the city around us. People in apartments under our claws, rats in the dumpsters in the alleys. The freedom of running nowhere in particular.

An old chimney gives us a good perch to look upon the sprawling city, lit up more beautiful than any nebula. Light pollution and clouds block the stars above.

Among the snippets of human sounds that reach us here comes a noise of distress, so we climb down to investigate.

On the almost-empty street below, an intimidating man is holding a well-worn bookbag and taunting the teenage boy begging for its return. The man is twice the size of the child, and wearing much nicer clothes.

The boy pleads, but gets only insults from the man.

We drop down around the corner and approach, growling. We expect them both to run in fear.

The man pulls a gun from his pockets and grabs the boy by the neck, glaring up at us from behind his hostage.

Like lightning, we shoot a tendril out to muzzle the gun, hissing as the gunpowder ignites but catching the bullet.

The teenager dives for his bag and runs like his life depends on it. We grab the man and swallow his gun, for intimidation.

He begs.

His whole head fits into our mouth, we can feel him screaming against our tongue until we bite down.

—

“AAAHH!”

Izuku bolted upright in bed, panting, horrified.

Venom was around him in an instant, tendrils patting his back and hair, whispering,  _ “sorry, sorry,” _ as the panic faded.

“IZUKU!” Inko burst into her son’s room and flipped on the lights, blinding all of them. The symbiote hid.

Rubbing his eyes, the boy mumbled, “just a nightmare, Okāsan, I’m fine.”

His mother came and sat next to him on the bed, rubbing his back comfortingly. “Was it the sludge villain?”

_ No, mom,  _ **_I_ ** _ was the villain. _

“Uh, maybe? I just remember being scared. I’m sorry I woke you.”

“Oh, sweetie, there’s nothing to be sorry about!” She hugged him briefly. “Let’s go back to sleep.” A kiss on the forehead, lights out, door shut. Footsteps became quiet.

Izuku laid back down and stared up at his ceiling. “Benom-san? What was that dream?” He asked blankly.

_ “Was trying to watch your dreams, but showed you an old memory. Was an accident.” _

“You’ve killed someone before.”

_ “Told you, my kind are not nice, but I have learned. Want to be good.” _

“I want to be a hero. Heroes don’t kill.”

_ “We can do whatever you want.” _


	3. A Day In The Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing much to warn about. Bakugou is Bakugou. Venom goes fishing.

Despite the disturbance to his sleep, Izuku woke without complaint for his pre-dawn training. Venom stayed hidden but asked plenty of questions on the way to the beach.

_ “This man who is making you stronger, he will give you his power?” _

“If I can get my body strong enough to handle his Quirk before the entrance exam. Cleaning up the beach is good for the community, good exercise for me, and proves my dedication to be All Might’s successor.”

_ “Can anyone give these ‘Quirks’ or is it something inborn?” _

“Roughly four out of every five people have some kind of Quirk. Okāsan can pull small objects to her, Otōsan can breathe fire a bit. Most kids would have one parent’s Quirk or a hybrid of the two, but I’m Quirkless. I don’t know how All Might can share his Quirk, but he said he got it from someone else.”

_ “Your father can breathe  _ **_fire_ ** _?!?” _

“Don’t worry, he’s always away on business.” Looks like they got to the beach before All Might. “Anyway, you said you can boost my strength and speed? All Might will be watching me work, so as cool as that is you should let me do it all myself, okay, Benom-san?”

_ “Will only help if you are in danger. I will be less hungry, as well. Before you start, could we go to the edge of the water?” _

“Yeah, sure.” Izuku walked across the cluttered beach, stopping just before his shoes would get wet. He watched as Venom appeared from his knee and extended their neck out over the water. After a moment of stillness, the snake-like head dove into the water and emerged with a hand-sized fish.

This was the first time the boy had seen his symbiote’s mouth properly. Dozens of sharp teeth held the fish around its middle. A long red tongue slid between the teeth and coiled around the fish, straightening it out as the jaws opened, pulling the fish down as the mouth enclosed it.

_ “Delicious,” _ Venom purred in Izuku’s head as they grinned up at him for a moment and then vanished.

“Midoriya-shōnen!” Here comes All Might.

—

He wanted to tell him, really. Tried to figure out how to start.

_ Hey Sensei, so I met another slime monster, but this one is nice and only sometimes controls my body. _

_ Hey Sensei, I told my new friend all about you, but it’s okay because they’re not human. _

_ So, All Might, have you ever met a space alien? _

“You’re not working hard enough if you have enough breath to mutter like that!”

“Yes sir, sorry sir!”

—

Sunrise found Izuku and All Might sitting on the retaining wall, the boy drinking water enthusiastically while his hero patted his shoulder approvingly.

“Your stamina has already improved, and you’re getting better about lifting with your knees! Now, run along, time for breakfast.”

_ Well, with All Might  _ and _ Venom fussing about my technique, I might eventually lift with my knees without needing a reminder. _

The walk back was quieter than the walk there, but Izuku found his voice after a bit. “Those are a lot of teeth you have, Benom-san.”

_ “As many as needed.” _

He gulped. “You mentioned needing a host for… nutrients. And that memory had you biting— that. What do I need to be feeding you, for this host thing to work?”

_ “There are chemicals I need, like your vitamins, but life on this planet uses most of them as signals in the brain. Others fade away in dead meat.” _

“So… you’re messing with my brain? Am I going to go crazy?!?”

_ “No! Never! Chemicals are also in chocolate, and those vegetable protein blocks, and we can go fishing.” _

“But you have hurt people before, for food?”

_ “Only bad people, and to not go to waste.” _

Sigh. “Let’s talk about this later.”

—

Breakfast was a rush of wolfing down food and reassuring his mother that he was fine after that nightmare. Izuku slipped two protein bars into his bag and hurried off to school.

Venom was awake today, and very interested in the varied appearances and abilities of Izuku’s classmates. They found that if the boy looked at someone and mentally shouted,  _ Bakugou Katsuki, explosive sweat, _ Venom could hear.

But also that Izuku looked like a total dork in the process.

No surprise, then, that the bully squad took notice.

“Hey Deku, you’ve been acting weirder than normal,” Bakugou proclaimed as their classmates left at the end of the day. “Yesterday you couldn’t shut up and now today you haven’t made a peep. Get your shit together.”

His sidekicks crowed, “yeah Deku, get your shit together!”

_ “Not so tough if they knew what we could do to them, _ ” Venom growled.

“It’s not— I’m just—” Izuku stuttered out the start of some sloppy apology/excuse.

“Come on,” Bakugou turned and sauntered toward the door, “I’ve got better places to be.” The others followed.

_ “What a turd.” _

Izuku sighed and finished packing up. “He’s better than he used to be.”

—

The evening was much the same — homework and dinner and symbiote questions.

“Hey, Benom-san, do you have any nice memories you could show me?”

_ “Can try. Last time was an accident, and usually showed Eddie memories we already shared.” _

“What should I do to get ready?”

_ “Lay down and close your eyes.” _

—

We look down on the man sleeping on the beaten-up sofa. Strong tattooed arms laid across his stomach, feet in mismatched socks stuck out from one armrest. Empty beer bottle between his knee and the backrest.

From the floor, a smartphone started chiming an alarm. The man groaned and flailed a hand on the floor. Black tendrils reached out, some grabbing up the phone and others opening the curtains.

The man flung one arm across his eyes and groaned dramatically.

**“Made coffee, Eddie.”**

“Oh, thanks, V,” he mumbled, “didja ‘member that soymilk stuff we’re tryin’?”

**“I put the cold bean juice in the hot bean juice, yes.”**

The man squints up at us judgingly before breaking into beautiful laughter.


	4. Making An Exchange

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! (Unless you read my tumblr)

Life (and death) was getting overwhelming for Danny Fenton. His sister trying to help him without listening to him. His arch-nemesis trying to blackmail him. His friends trying to downplay his nightmarish future self. His parents’ annual Christmas Fight looming.

He thumbed the lock on the interdimensional portal in his basement. Transforming into Phantom, he floated through to the Ghost Zone. Maybe a change of scene and some casual flying would take the edge off.

He wondered if ClockWork had any advice. The Keeper of Time was willing to break a few rules to put Danny back on the right path, maybe they could just… talk?

Danny had the sudden urge to fly off in a certain direction, so he decided to follow it. Noting what landmarks he could, he traced that feeling through the greenscape of the Zone until he came to a door.

It was fancier than most of the doors he had seen, and was the exact shade of purple as ClockWork’s cloak. The clock set into it was also rather telling.

The door slammed open and a sudden current pulled Danny in.

—

Planning for the incoming students was always complicated, especially since it was going to be All Might’s first semester as a teacher. He was glad to have Aizawa, Yamada, and Principal Nezu for support. He felt as tired as Eraser Head looked.

So when a sparkling cyan  _ something _ appeared in the middle of the office, it was almost a relief. Fighting stances assumed, three supermen and a principal watched as the spark became a large rectangle, then an ornate purple door faded into existence within it. Set into the center of the door was the face and cabinet of a working grandfather clock.

The door creaked open dramatically, more swirling cyan within its frame. As if breaking the surface of a pond, a figure with white hair and a black outfit tumbled out onto the carpet, landing face-down and groaning slightly.

A parchment scroll leapt out of the doorway after, landing on the boy’s back. The door creaked shut, and then vanished with an audible  **pop** .

Everyone tensed as the white-haired person on the floor pushed themself up, speaking in English, “ugh, where in the Zone did I end up?”

Confronted with a muscular man in a suit, an angry-looking goth, a man with a stereo around his neck like a scarf, and a living teddy bear, the mystery person’s electric green eyes went wide. He cautiously raised himself off his stomach and into a sitting position, raising his hands. The scroll fell to the floor with a small sound.

“Um, hello?” He said with a boyish voice. He looked barely old enough to be a student at U.A. Skinny, scared-looking, but his mostly-black jumpsuit looked Pro Hero. He even had a logo.

—

“Are you an American?” Asked the stereo-man loudly in accented English.

Danny flinched but nodded. “Where are we?”

“You’re in Musutafu, Japan!” Was the enthusiastic reply. The boy watched as the man turned to the others and rattled off some high-speed Japanese, getting much more subdued replies.

Seeing the adults distracted, he cautiously lowered his hands and reached over to grab the scroll off the floor. He stopped and stared at the gear-shaped seal stamped in purple wax.

“What’s that you have there?” The muscular man asked, his accent thicker in English than the other’s.

Danny broke the seal and read the first part of the scroll before looking back up at him.  _ Danny, please give this letter to the principal.  _ The rest of the letter was in what he assumed was Japanese, seeing as that was where he apparently ended up.

“Which one of you is the principal?”

When the white creature with a scarred eye stepped forward and held out a hand (a paw?) Danny just handed them the scroll.

—

Principal Nezu read quickly. The letter-writer asked that this boy, Danny, be taken in by U.A. as an exchange student from a world where his powers were rare and misunderstood. This writer was in some way responsible for the boy, but their duties kept them from giving Danny the upbringing he deserved.

The letter also explained that the boy’s powers, plural, resulted from his scientist parents’ negligence, and that the boy was ghostly because of it. Undead.

And empowered by mad science. Now  _ that _ was something Nezu knew a thing or two about.

“Well, gentlemen, it looks like we have another young hero-in-training enrolling under a recommendation.”


	5. Outstanding!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some description of injury, skip from thr second “Midoriya-shōnen!” to “He was glad, of course” if you want to avoid Izuku hurting his arm.

It was difficult at first, but Izuku (and Venom) settled into a rhythm. Training with All Might on the beach, going to school, doing homework. Venom’s curiosity about how the world had changed, and knowledge of English, made schoolwork a little more bearable. Spare time in the evenings went to teaching the alien about famous heroes and their Quirks, analyzing All Might’s fighting style, and figuring out symbiosis together.

The first time Venom suggested a late-night outing, Izuku refused. The second time, he crept nervously out his bedroom window with symbiote flesh sticking his hands and feet to the wall on the way down. Outside, Venom engulfed him completely with their lithe bonded form and they ran on all fours along the empty streets.

Moving in sync, feeling like nothing could stop them, was almost intoxicating. They couldn’t do this too regularly, to avoid notice, but it burnt off a lot of that nervous energy plaguing the pair.

—

“Tell me about Eddie,” said Izuku one night where they’d gone to bed early. He felt Venom’s reluctance, felt them fidget where they curled around his shoulders. “Not everything, but, I-I can tell he was important to you. A-and you’re important to me, now.”

_ “I guess I should start from the beginning, then. Eddie was what was called an investigative journalist. That is a fancy name for someone who breaks into places where illegal things happen, so he can show the evidence to the whole world.” _

“And he did that without any powers?” Izuku asked. “That sounds really dangerous.”

_ “He broke into the lab where I was being kept. Bonded to him and helped him escape. Even though I was not nice, Eddie was nice to me. Eddie was nice to everyone, unless they were very bad people.” _

“My favorite thing about All Might is how he smiles to reassure people. Even in a disaster, even if he’s afraid, his smile brings hope. That’s why he’s been the Symbol of Peace.”

_ “Eddie had a news show, before we met. The people of the city knew he cared about them. He would punch a politician in the face on camera to protect the poor and the homeless.” _

Izuku was quiet for a moment. “...I knew Americans were crazy, but…”

_ “Eddie was stupid and brave, and trusted me more than deserved at first. We stopped any more of my kind from reaching the Earth and eating everything. Both almost died.” _

“He sounds like he would’ve made a great Hero.”

—

All Might was surprised; the beach was clear. The beach was clear and All Might was surprised.

Young Midoriya stood atop the fully-loaded truck and snarled in triumph. He climbed down, efficiently if a little shaky from exertion, to meet his mentor.

“Midoriya-shōnen! Only two days before the exam! A pleasant surprise!”

“W-we made it, huh? Does this mean I’ve trained enough!?!” The boy looked so hopeful and excited, but still so nervous to ask anything of the hero.

“YES! Your body has become a suitable vessel!” He dramatically plucked one of his blond hairs and held it out with a flourish. “All you need to do is eat this!”

“WHAT?!?”

—

Izuku jogged down the beach, welling with nervous excitement. While he wasn’t 100% clear on the process, the power was willingly shared through the DNA in All Might’s hair, and he should gain the Quirk once the hair digested. Two or three hours for a normal person.

Not long at all with Venom speeding things up.

They both figured half an hour of continued training was long enough to not seem too suspicious, but would give enough time to practice before school.

He turned and ran back, not needing to fake the overwhelming glee. “Sensei! I think it’s kicked in!”

“Really?” Scrawny All Might put his phone back in his pockets and stood up off the retaining wall. “Are you sure?”

The boy nodded. “I think so… I just feel it, you know?”

“Before you try anything, remember: tense your muscles, squeeze your buttocks, and with all of your heart yell SMASH!”

_ “Be careful, Izuku,” _ whispered Venom.

“I’ll try my best,” he answered both of them. Turning to face the ocean, he assumed a fighting stance, right arm cocked back. He focused on his arm and felt heat and light gather there. Distantly, different senses registered All Might’s awe and Venom’s alarm.

Izuku released it all with a swing of his arm, screaming, as sand whipped up around him and water parted for a moment. The euphoria was almost enough to drown out the agony in his arm.

—

“Midoriya-shōnen!” He could hardly believe it. His successor had used One For All! But as the dust settled, All Might was suddenly horrified. The boy’s right arm swung limply at his side; turning towards him, there were tears in Midoriya’s eyes as he grit his teeth and felt his arm with his good hand.

All Might skidded on his knees as he rushed over to gingery inspect the arm. He was just as shocked to see the arm move unnaturally as the bones knit back together, the skin looking less raw and bruised. Within a minute, the boy’s arm looked more like mild road rash than hamburger.

He was glad, of course, but very confused.

—

“I-I guess I had a healing Quirk all along…” Lying to All Might felt dirty, but really, it was sorta true? He’d never gotten so badly hurt that Venom needed to intervene on this level before today. It was a lie they’d practiced.

All Might slumped back to sit on his heels, letting his head hang and sighing like he had been holding his breath.

Izuku flexed his fingers and winced. “Never been hurt enough to need it...? Nothing seems broken, just sore now, anyway.”

_ “And hungry,” _ Venom added in the boy’s head.

“I’m so sorry,” said his hero, head still bowed. “You weren’t ready to use One For All, and now you’re hurt right before the entrance exam.”

“No, no, I’m fine, really!” He hated feeling like a burden. Letting All Might down hurt worse than his arm. “I should maybe go home and put some ice on this, and tomorrow we can figure out what I did wrong.”

—

Venom healed him more on the walk home, enough that he could tell his mother (and classmates) that he tripped and skinned his forearm on the sidewalk. Okāsan still freaked out, of course. Izuku snuck the symbiote a whole bar of baking chocolate from their stash as thanks.


	6. I’m Not The Same As Yesterday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another Danny chapter! Not much to give a heads-up about except playing the Quirk erasing and Ghostly Wail for a bit of horror.

“What do you mean, a  _ school _ for  _ heroes _ ?!?” The foreign boy seemed incredulous.

“It’s quite simple,” Principal Nezu replied in careful English, “a majority of the people here have some kind of powers, so institutions such as ours train aspiring heroes as well as provide more typical high school classes.”

“All of you have superpowers?”

All Might gave the boy a photogenic thumbs-up. “I am Japan’s Number One Hero, All Might!”

Yamada slung an arm around Aizawa’s shoulders. “I’m Pro Hero Present Mic! I blow away Villains with my INCREDIBLE VOICE! And this is Eraser Head.”

“And I’m Principal Nezu, my intellect is unmatched by any human. This letter indicates you have multiple abilities, related to some sort of science experiment? Would you be so kind as to show us?” He noticed as the boy cringed at the mention.

“Um, sure?”

—

Danny let go of gravity, his white hair flowing slightly as he rose off the floor to hover in the middle of the room. Feeling nervous, his legs switched into his ghostly tail, ready to flee. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

“So, well, I’m a ghost? I have most of the same powers that other ghosts back home have. Floating, intangibility, invisibility…”

The loud man and the goth conversed briefly in Japanese. Mike (was that his name?) yelled in shock and turned back to Danny. “YOU’RE DEAD!?! WHAAAAT!?!”

“Yes and no. I do believe that he has more in common with an  _ ikiryō _ spirit than a  _ yūrei, _ ” said Nezu. He turned to address Danny directly. “You are both alive and dead, am I correct?”

If Clockwork had sent him here, he could trust these people, right? Rings of light moved over his body, changing from suited-up ghost to plain-looking teenager in street clothes.

There were two dramatic gasps and some murmurs from the three men, and a knowing nod from the mouse-like Principal.

“The other ghosts call ones like me a ‘halfa’ but I’m not sure if it’s meant as an insult or not. Call me Danny Fenton.”

—

They had a whole fake city and robots for combat training. This place was insane.

Danny stood in the middle of the street, facing three large robots. Nearby were the mouse, the goth, and Mike. The Number One Hero apparently had paperwork to finish.

“We use a similar setup for our entrance exams! Don’t worry too much about damage! Ready? GO!!!” Mike flourished a remote control.

The robots all swivelled immediately to Danny.  **“Target acquired!”**

“These guys must have some screws loose,” he quipped as he jumped back. “Going ghost!” He transformed and took to the air, firing off a half dozen ectoblasts at the enemies. The blasts found their marks, knocking over all three robots. Danny went intangible and swerved through all three before dropping an armful of electrical wires at the feet of the trio of observers.

The quiet, goth-looking man locked eyes with Danny and several things happened all at once. The man’s eyes flashed red, his hair stood on end, and his scarf started to unravel. Danny felt like his heart had stopped (again), frozen as if his ectoplasm had crystalized all at once; he dropped the last half a meter to the ground and would’ve fallen over stiff as a statue if not for the man’s scarf wrapping around him.

“It does work on you,” said the man. “Good.” He dropped whatever power he was using and his scarf returned to its previous state.

“What did you just DO to me!?!” Danny’s eyes and fists blazed green.

Mike stepped in with waving hands and a few “hey”s and some rapid Japanese before turning to Danny. “Eraser Head can erase Quirks, it’s usually not so dramatic!”

He let the glow dissipate as he relaxed his fists. “That’s cheating, man.”

“Says the boy with too many powers,” Eraser replied, sounding bored. “Do it.”

“OKAY OKAY OKAY,” replied Mike, who dramatically pushed another button on his remote, “SHOW US YOUR STRONGEST MOVE!”

A robot the size of an office tower rose up out of the ground.

—

“I was expecting him to change back,” Aizawa said, nodding toward the ghostly teen.

“It appears that his body is more amorphous in this state, and became paralyzed when you erased his powers,” Nezu replied. “Fascinating.”

“He’s planning something,” Aizawa pointed up to where Danny was hovering at head-height to the Zero Pointer.

He leaned back, puffing out his chest, and then he  _ screamed. _

The sound was like nails on a chalkboard, like a million tortured souls, like a child screaming in agony. The ground shook slightly. The giant robot and the neighboring towers started crumbling apart as if gale-force winds were tearing through the street in that one particular spot.

The scream stopped and what was left of the robot fell apart. The boy floated down to the middle of the road.

Principle Nezu had his hands clamped over his ears. Yamada looked shaken and horrified.

Aizawa gave them a wild-eyed grin. “I demand hazard pay for this, Nezu-sama.”

When they walked over to where Danny had touched down, they found his human half sprawled out asleep on the asphalt. 

—

“If you’re going to be enrolling at U.A. you  _ will _ need to speak Japanese,” Eraser said bluntly. “Think you can do it in four months?”


	7. Learn To Fly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The entrance exam! More injuries, not described in nearly so much detail. And more Danny!

_ “How are you going to use that power without breaking yourself again?” _

Izuku had been chewing over Venom’s question all day and night. He didn’t know. Maybe All Might would have the answer in the morning.

_ “I can heal you, but it takes resources, Izuku.”  _ Venom sat as a featureless blob on the boy’s chest as he laid in bed.  _ “Can lose my self-control if we get too hungry.” _

“What would that be like? If I got hurt during the exam and you, uh, ran out?”

_ “Would start by pulling from non-essential parts of your body, but that is not efficient. Would need some sort of prey.” _

“I need to know the worst-case scenario, Benom-san. Please. I don’t want to put you in a position where you’ll do something you’ll regret.”

The blob opened a pair of opalescent eyes to stare at the human boy.  _ “Take over completely. Drain what I need from your body, like a  _ **_parasite._ ** _ Eat the weak or injured.” _ Venom closed their eyes.  _ “Not very heroic at all.” _

“Hey, it’s okay,” Izuku said as he laid his hands over the symbiote, “you’ve helped me so much this year, you know that? We’re a team now. What kind of hero would I be if I pushed my teammate too far?”

—

Learning to speak Japanese wasn’t too hard, all things considered. It was learning to  _ write _ Japanese that was going to send Danny to an early grave. At least as far as school was concerned.

Katakana, hiragana, and kanji. He was going to die from frustration and these guys would put kanji on his headstone. Eraser Head had the nerve to make him watch kindergartener videos on calligraphy and make him practice.

And then the man stuck the best of his work to the fridge, the sadist.

At least their rather snarky relationship had motivated him to learn how to annoy the hero in his native language. Good old Fenton bullheadedness and spite. When Danny managed his first Japanese pun, Eraser had pointed at him and said “no” like he was scolding a dog. Danny’s wicked grin after that had his teacher’s eye twitching. Phantom might be able to fight Villains in this world after all.

—

Down on the beach, while Izuku and All Might were yelling excitedly about punching and how eggs explode when microwaved, Venom was mulling over the changes to their host’s body.

The arm was completely healed now, because leaving their host damaged grated on the symbiote’s pride. They had been nudging and tailoring the young man’s body to complement his physical training for months, not unlike Eddie’s gym routine in years gone by. Those memories helped them advise Izuku on proper lifting and grip, too.

They could feel how this One For All strength had permeated every cell because their biomass was also in every cell, but how to tap into it was as alien to them as sporulation was to their host. It was aggravating, not knowing what advice to give, but knowing they’d have to clean up this hero-turned-teacher’s mess.

Venom wasn’t sure if they were glad or disappointed when the two humans chickened out on testing the super strength again. Izuku  _ did _ have a full day of school today plus the whole of the entrance exam tomorrow, why break his arms today?

—

_ “No broken bones today.” _

“No promises, Benom-san,” replied a sweaty, nervous Izuku as he walked up to the test building. Kacchan had taken one look at him and stomped faster toward the doors.

Izuku managed to trip over his own feet. Venom decided to just let this one play out — why jerk their host’s body upright unnaturally in this crowded place?

The pair were surprised to find that gravity had stopped working about halfway to face-faulting. The young lady who had apparently caught them with her Quirk gave a quick, apologetic explanation before setting them on their feet and hurrying off.

_ “Ooh, that’s nice…”  _ Venom crooned.

“Wha-what’s nice?” The boy was flustered.

_ “Oh, nothing,” _ the symbiote was smirking in Izuku’s mind’s eye.  _ “Don’t let me distract you.” _

—

“I’m leaving to go judge some kids,” Aizawa stated.

“Your favorite pastime!” Danny added cheerfully.

The man gave him a look. “Read those chapters on Quirk registration and the Hero industry. I’m quizzing you when I get home.”

Danny pulled a textbook out of the stack beside him. “I’ll be here.”

“No sneaking out for heroics. Even invisible, I’ll know it was you.”

“Yes, Sensei,” was the exasperated reply as Aizawa left the apartment.

—

Izuku was glad that the written exam was over, but he had mixed feelings about sitting next to Kacchan in the auditorium for the practical exam briefing. The familiar face was nice, but the hostility coming off his classmate wasn’t helping his focus.

And then Present Mic started screaming from the stage and Bakugou was suddenly very low priority. The sounds weren’t immediately a threat to Venom’s bond, or even to reveal them, but symbiote and host were more sensitive to strong vibrations than the average human. Izuku got a handle on the discomfort quickly, but the initial yelp of shock had those around him staring. He sheepishly straightened up and tried to pay attention.

Of course, one stern-looking young man took the opportunity to call him out when also objecting to something in the presentation.

“S-sorry, my hearing’s a bit sensitive, I’m fine,” Izuku stammered out, put on the spot.

—

_ “They’re opening the gates!” _ Venom hissed. Right, this was no time to get flustered.

Izuku tapped into their shared senses as he ran into the mock-battle, aiming to avoid where the other students were fighting. On the far side of  _ that _ building, a lone robot! Venom slid over the skin of his arms under his long sleeves and gloves in anticipation. Rounding the corner, the One Point enemy came into sight.

Weaknesses? As one, the pair identified its center of mass and where to strike to bring the robot down. Energy flowed through flesh, and Izuku struck.

Shockwave and dust. The enemy was through the wall and slumped, broken, against the interior of the building.  _ One point for us. _

_ “Hold still, your arm has fractures.” _

“Didn’t hurt so much this time.”

_ “That used maybe half the force as the first punch? But also I blocked the pain receptors.” _ For emphasis, they let the boy feel the ache as they finished knitting bone back together.

“At least I’m getting better?” Izuku offered weakly.

_ “Try harder. Healed now.” _

—

The other students had massacred the enemies. There didn’t seem to be any left, and Izuku still only had one point. Oh crap.

The ground began to shake.

—

The nice girl from earlier was pinned down by debris from the truly MASSIVE Zero Pointer that was bearing down on them. Izuku had staggered back, frozen in fear, Venom unable to force his muscles. They wanted to whip him and the girl out of danger but knew better than to reveal themselves.

Suddenly, Izuku leapt with a burst of full strength, surprising himself as much as Venom. Desperately he pulled back his arm and let One For All sear through it.

**_“DON’T!”_ **

He punched at the robot with devastating force, sending it reeling back. Two hundred feet in the air, the boy was suddenly hit by the realization of his actions.

**_“Both your legs are half healed, your arm is trashed, I can’t save you without showing myself Izuku!”_ **

_ If I can time a punch right with my other arm… _

**_“Could try to strike with tendrils, break the fall, but…”_ **

_ Time it just right… _

A hand on his shoulder. The gravity-nullifying powers of the girl they’d saved snatched their body from the grip of terminal velocity. 

**Author's Note:**

> Yep, I had to add to the pile of Venom!Izuku fics. Found myself really relating to Izuku when I started rewatching BNHA, as someone held back by physical limitations plus anxiety and depression.
> 
> Find me at lmtyl.tumblr and venomficprompts.tumblr


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